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ReBath of Colorado Springs Sucks! |
ReBath In General Sucks!
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Last Updated August 4, 2011
Consider the number of times you have been really mad about something and wanted to complain. Say, a truck cutting you off on the highway, a product that was defective, a clerk whose attitude wasn't nice, etc. You tell yourself, this time when I get home, I'm going to complain. But you don't. People rarely complain where it matters. Many companies take complaints very seriously because one complaint represents at least one hundred people and as many as a thousand people who didn't take the time and effort to complain. ReBath didn't take us seriously. They blew us off. Our letter to them was as detailed as what we have posted on these pages. We cited dates, names, emails, etc. All ReBath did was to complain about this page. ReBath never inquired but they did contact some nimrod lawyer who sent us a threatening letter. Bad ReBath. We will never use them again nor do we recommend that you ever use them. Sending a complaint to Re-Bath is a waste of time. |
If Corporate doesn't care how can you expect the local office to care? As inept, unprofessional, dishonest and disorganized as the Colorado Springs office of Re-Bath was, we find it totally incomprehensible that Re-Bath Corporate had not received a single complaint about them prior to ours. Re-Bath Corporate knew how bad the Colorado Springs office was. Re-Bath Corporate knew and did nothing. Re-Bath Corporate did not care except when it came to the monthly checks coming to them. If the home office does not care, how can anyone reasonably expect the local offices to care? |
When we sent a detailed complaint letter to ReBath Corporate what we got in return was a poorly written cease and desist letter. As far as we are concerned, ReBath Corporate is just as incompetent as ReBath of Colorado Springs and just as responsible for this mess. If Corporate doesn't care about the quality of work done, who will? And, we feel ReBath violated almost all consumer protection laws in any state. Not only were there flagrant bait and switch tactics and rampant failure to perform to contract but we were shown glitzy catalogs from which to select cabinets and such only to be told they install only what is in stock at Lowes. Lies, lies and more lies. All documented below and all, we believe, are known and supported by corporate headquarters. Most of our earlier conversations with dave Fleming were on the telephone. What he did not realize was that we took notes. Lots of notes. We felt we were being lied to from the first telephone call. And we were right. |
In June of 2008, we were contacted by Dave Fleming of ReBath of Colorado Springs. He admitted our job had gone bad from the start and he wanted to make it right.
He offered to give us back every dime we had paid him and we could keep whatever work had been done. He would pay us back in monthly installments
until we were repaid and all we were to do was remove these web pages. If he failed to live up to his part of the agreement we could put these pages back up.
His offer, his written agreement, his doing. To which we agreed.
Monthly payments were to begin in June 2008. As of January 2009, eight payments later (per his agreement), two checks have bounced and he is three monthly payments behind. These web pages were returned to service the end of January 2009. Again we were contacted by Dave Fleming who wanted another chance. We agreed, one more chance. He's screwed that up as well after one month. As of April 29, these pages are back. Re-Bath Corporate claims "Re-Bath of Colorado Springs has gone out of business" but they don't say why. |
OUR STORY: Did you ever get the feeling that if it were not for bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all? After battling with our home contractor, NorthStar Homes (out of Florissant, Colorado and now out of business) and Barbara Robbins (who filed for bankruptcy and we blocked it) over shoddy work and an inferior products, we decided to go with what appeared to be a national and reputable company. Their advertising sure looked good on television. Who knew we were getting into another fine mess. A mess that was to cost us $13,357.00. That was what we were willing to spend to get the bathrooms remodeled as we wanted them to be. After close to $10k spent we are left with unfinished bathrooms and open sewage pipes. If we wanted a job done piecemeal we would have done it ourselves. We were willing to pay for a quality product and to have the job done with a minimum of disruption. But that requires hiring a class operation to do the work. From the advertising we saw, on television, brochures and the showroom, we were lead to believe Re-bath was a class operation. WRONG.
We got nothing. In fact, in response to our letter of complaint to Re-Bath Corporate, we received a Cease & Desist demand from their half-baked lawyer, David Rosenblum of David Rosenblum & Associates, P.C., based in some Pennsylvania town called Trevose. We were not impressed. The main threat of the David Rosenblum letter was: |
"The unauthorized use of the Re-Bath trademark and the Re-Bath trademark with te tub-over-tub logo, which are registered trademarks, on your website at www.tabberone.com/ReBathSucks/ReBathSuck.shtml constitutes trademark infringement and is unlawful and actionable". |
Well David Rosenblum, we invite you, and Re-Bath Corporate to sue us as threatened because we are not removing the
"Re-Bath trademark and the Re-Bath trademark with te tub-over-tub logo" from the web site. We have been threatened by much larger firms and
far more intelligent attorneys.
Two days later we emailed a response to David Rosenblum of David Rosenblum & Associates, P.C., also sending a copy via Priority Mail. We directed him to our Trademarks section in case his intellectual property skills are as poor as the letter makes us believe. Another lawyer who slept through Trademark Law 101. We pointed out to him the "uses in commerce" portion of the Lanham Act and told him that since the "marks are not being used in commerce" but rather for criticism the use is "not considered infringement under the Lanham Act" as he claims. We haven't heard from him since. What kills us is that he gets paid to be stupid. Really, really stupid. He did not even take the time to respond to our follow-up inquiries. It seems that David Rosenblum of David Rosenblum & Associates, P.C., based in some Pennsylvania town called Trevose, has bad communications skills.
Re-Bath advertises nationally that they specialize in one-day bathroom remodeling. They have an office in Colorado Springs: ReBath of Colorado Springs. Catchy name, isn't it? ReBath. That's all that we found “catchy” about them after we signed the contract. Is it ReBath or Re-Bath? We think both. Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee. Frick of Frack.
Re-Bath of Colorado Springs was located at 3850 Maizeland Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80915. Their telephone number was (719) 471-9604
but don't expect anyone to answer the telephone. We rarely got an real person. Their email was listed on their website as
cospringsrebath@hotmail.com which really should have been a warning indicator. What serious company is so cheap they
have a Hotmail email address? Their web site, www.rebathofsocolo.com is really a sub-domain of the parent company
with almost the identical layout and promo. We're guessing that it came with the office because the people with whom we have dealt
from Re-Bath of Colorado Springs aren't that bright.
So, you ask, what went wrong? Almost everything. We stopped by the Re-Bath of Colorado Springs office in Colorado Springs to talk
about getting out two bathrooms remodeled. We had budgeted for this last year (2006) and we wanted to get rid of the cheap crap
that came with our Summit Crest home (we call them Summit Crap homes).
The office was nice and the secretary was polite but unable to help us. We had to wait for a salesman named Greg Sanders to come
to our home to measure everything. Made sense. We warned them that we were 75 miles from Colorado Springs but we were assured that
that was not a problem. Nor was the fact we were in a modular home a problem according to Greg, or Kyle or Dave.
March 6, 2007
March 6, 2007 ± a week
March 17, 2007
May 28, 2007 ± the Estimated Date Of Installation ("EDOI") plus 13 days
Originally the installation was first scheduled to begin Monday, June 4, 2007 but something came up (we weren't told what) and they
rescheduled the installation for Monday June 11th through Thursday June 14th.
June 14, 2007 EDOI plus 30 days
ReBath of Colorado Springs wanted to reschedule for Monday July 2, 2007. Karen reminded them that Wednesday was the July 4th holiday
but they said that was fine. It didn't make much sense to us to schedule a job like ours with a holiday in the middle of the work week.
But, that was what they wanted to do.
July 2, 2007 EDOI plus 1 month and 18 days
John and Nate arrived late morning and we told them we wanted one shower done before the other was started. They agreed to our logic
and commenced to remove the shower in the second bath. When they removed the shower pan it was discovered that field mice had built a
good sized nest under the pan. Mike promptly cleaned it up as both John and Nate appeared to get nervous around dead critters. This
is when they discovered relocating the drain was going to involve more than they
expected. Nat crawled under the house (no basement, just a crawlspace) to examine their options. He returned complaining of a
“rat infestation” under the house. John and Nate now depart, leaving the second shower ripped out. Perhaps it was their glassy-eyed look
that imagined the "infestation". That look usually means someone has fried their brains on drugs. We're guessing drug testing was not part of the
hiring program by Re-Bath of Colorado Springs.
This does drag on, doesn't it?
We talked to Kyle several times over the next few days. He claimed his men could not return until the “rat infestation” problem had be
remediated. As we pointed out to Kyle, both of us had crawled under the house to the far end and we only found six dead field mice.
During this time, we spoke to Dave Fleming, the President of ReBath of Colorado Springs. He assured us that both wet areas would be
done at the same time. Seems he was getting ready to go to England on vacation with his family. How nice.
July 6, 2007 EDOI plus 1 month and 22 days
July 11, 2007 EDOI plus 1 month and 27 days
It appears that Summit Crest Homes (whom we call Summit Crap Homes) had the drain drop about four inches, move 90 degrees to the
outside wall for about six inches, and then rise up about 3½ inches before going down again to the drain. This created virtually no
suction and was why the shower was constantly backing up. However, relocating the shower drain was a line item specifically included in the contract.
In order to avoid more work relocating the shower drain in the second bath, John decided to build the floor up. He then attached the
drain and installed the shower walls, gluing them in place.
July 12, 2007 EDOI plus1 month and 28 days
July 17, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 2 days
July 20, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 5 days
July 24, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 9 days
We called again at 2:30pm. Matt Craig, a new name has entered the picture, said he would call us right back after he saw where we were
on the board. He actually did call us back about fifteen minutes later. He identified himself as a representative for ReBath for
Southern Colorado and he was in the office to get them squared away. To get them back where they should be. Right. He was either a gifted liar or
an escapee from a nearby asylum as nothing he said was true or ever happened.
Matt informed us that they hadn't received the cabinets so they were going to phase B and get them from a
local company. He also told us that John was a certified technician with ReBath.
We talked again thirty minutes later and he told us Kyle was waiting on the countertops from Lowe's. Matt also told Kyle himself
would be coming out to help install the cabinets and finish the master bath shower. Matt then asked us if we would consider accepting
a gift certificate for $50.00 to a restaurant in Colorado Springs to make up for
the delays and other problems. We told him yes. We have never received that "gift certificate". It appears that everyone connected with ReBath
lies or is delusional.
Later that day, Stacy called just before 5pm. She told us Kyle would be calling us. When we inquired about Matt, she told us he was
just a sales rep. So much for getting their stories straight.
July 28, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 13 days
Dave Fleming then informed us that he planned to come to our house on Wednesday, August 1st with John.
August 1, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 17 days
August 7, 2007 EDOI plus 2 months and 23 days
August 16, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 1 day August 17, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 2 days
August 22, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months 6 days
It gets worse, folks.
At 3:30pm we still have no plumber. We have been waiting at home all day for him to show. We call ReBath and Stacy tells us he got lost. Huh? She claimed
he was wandering around trying to find our house and gave up and went home. What? Why didn't he call us for directions? After traveling over an hour to get
into our area, don't you think a “real” person would have called for directions before just deciding to take the over one hour drive back? Plus, the Re-Bath
emplyees, as stupid and as stoned as they were, had no trouble finding us. We don't think there really was a plumber coming, do you? Stacy also told us
Dave would be calling us in the morning with the plumber's telephone number so we could call him and tell him how to get to our place. Right. John, Dave, Kyle
and Steve all knew how to find our house and we were to tell the “plumber” how to get here? Right.
There's still a lot left.
August 23, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 7 days
Dave rambled on about things like they specialize in mobile home and modulars (you could have fooled us on that one, Dave boy) and that
he wanted to get the work done right. Karen asked him if he would be getting the work done by September 10 as we were going to be going to
Memphis for a few days. He response was that if he didn't have it done by then, “I'll quit the business.”
August 30, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 14 days
They rip out the cabinet in the second bathroom but they then discover they have the wrong cabinet: the doors are on the wrong side
for the cabinet top. Opps!
In the master bath, where they removed the old master shower, they installed a floor cabinet instead of the
wall cabinet that was ordered. To do this, they had to jury-rig a crappy base support.
They also left a large hole in the wall. Seems the painting and finish work, as included in the contract, was a mystery to them.
They brought the wrong cabinets for the master bath; we ordered white and they
brought wood grain brown.
Then they discovered an electrician was needed because the back splash for both of the counter tops were too high and the
electrical outlets on the wall were in the way. Both bathrooms had to have the outlets moved. Three different people at three different time came
out to inspect and measure and not one of them noticed that small detail. This was never a problem before?
The fixture for the shower in the master bath was damaged and John told us he would have to get a new one.
Glen's check was to be brought out by John but it seems he forgot it (this was after it was mailed to Glen and then returned. Right!).
The check issue made it sound like they would be returning the next day. They did not. Our mistake for not specifically asking them when they would be back.
How silly of us.
September 1, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 16 days
September 4, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 19 days
September 6, 2007 EDOI plus 3 months and 21 days
They brought two 36” cabinets instead of the 72” cabinet called for in the contract.
These two cabinets severely limit the drawer space as they are each designed for a basin and each have small drawers. We emphasized we were trying
to maximize drawer space every time someone from ReBath came to the house to measure and take pictures. We wasted our time.
Three times, what appeared to be reasonably intelligent people, boy were we wrong, came to the house and had our expectations explained to them.
Three times, what appeared to be reasonably intelligent people, boy were we wrong, lied to us and told us "no problem".
It went in one head and out the other. To make matters worse, it appears the two cabinets were not fastened to the back wall before the
72" counter top was placed and fastened onto them. Huh? From what trade school did these installers flunk out?
Also, we didn't notice at the time, they installed an American Standard faucet, not the
Michael Graves Delta faucet we ordered. It wasn't installed properly and leaked
from the bottom. Not at all what we wanted. But we were finding this level of workmanship to be the norm from Re-Bath.
They repaired the wall in the master shower but did not finish and paint as stated in the contract. They also did not plug the old
drainpipe so we had the
smell of sewage wafting through the house as well.
Since their “phantom plumber” never appeared, they re-contacted Glen. Glen tried to hook up the water for the master bath sink but the
lines were too short.
They did install the in-wall medicine cabinet in the second bathroom but it was a
three-door medicine cabinet; not what was ordered. They did not do a sinle thing
without screwing it up.
When they went to install the cabinet in the second bathroom, they discovered they had a 42” counter top but a 36” cabinet. Steve
was confused and went outside to call Dave (we assume so we couldn't hear the conversation). Steve returned, claiming Dave told him that
Dave had made the size decision. They intended to install a spacer to seal off the difference. We rejected this idea. The contract called for a 42"
cabinet. We paid for a 42" cabinet.
They did have the check for Glenn this time (#2054 dated August 22nd ). Neither sink was fully hooked up.
When they left, they did not pick up the trash in the yard. The wind blew it all over the place before we realized what had
happened. They also left a small piece of wood with two nails in it sticking up which would have been really fun to step on.
During this "phase", Karen asked if ReBath picks one job a year to screw up and we were the unlucky ones? The response was that
we weren't even close. They had a job in Woodland Park they were still working on from November 2006. Oh, happy day.
When leaving, Steve suggested to us we put together a list of our “concerns” and fax them to ReBath of Colorado Springs so they
could make sure everything would be taken care of. So we did that day. Two days later, Dave Fleming
responded by email, “Thank you for your concerns, they will be addressed back on Monday.”
September 25, 2007 EDOI plus 4 months and 9 days
We emailed him back, “'Ready willing and able' doesn't address the issues we raised.
We sent you the concerns, we would like them addressed on a point by point basis, including but not limited to the faucet switch issue.”
He responded. Total bullshit. High points:
We obviously did not like his response. While he conceded some small points, his explanation for the major problems was unacceptable.
And it was total bullshit. What happened to contract law? Why would he send a salesman to take an order that would never be filled?
Was it because he intended to "switch" everything to save money? It appears to have been a scam from the very beginning.
We sent him our objections on September 26, 2007.
#1 - not complete. The contract calls for a “wall cabinet”. You installed a floor cabinet. What you claim at this time what the contract
“would say” is irrelevant; it's what the contract “does say”. Because your people procured a floor cabinet instead of a wall cabinet,
they jury-rigged the installation and that is not what was wanted. Are you trying to tell us Lowe's doesn't have wall cabinets?
And why didn't somebody consult us before making the change?
#3 - not complete. See #1. Contract specifies a 72” cabinet. Both you and another representative from your office came here after the
salesman was fired and verified all measurements and orders. You wait until installation to “change” things? The “free” cabinet
does not have satisfactory drawers.
#5 - Why wasn't this “explained” to us on any of the three occasions a representative from Re-Bath, including you, was at the house
taking measurements and confirming the orders? At no time did any one mention the cabinets were “thru Lowes”; we were under the
impression these cabinets would be customized to meet our measurements. The catalogs we looked at made no mention of Lowes and
neither did any company representative. We were under the impression we were getting a customized bathroom refit, not standard
hardware off the shelf.
Additionally, your claim of standard practice doesn't wash. When your crew encountered the problem of the 42” top and the 36” cabinet,
they were dumfounded. They had to call you to get the story to tell us. Your version here is not the tale they told.
We do not consider the entire additional plumbing charges to be a contract factor. For the shower in the second bath, the relocation
of the drain of the plumbing for the faucet and listed in the contract as included. We paid the plumber directly for the work he performed
under the house in dropping the drain and reconnecting it. Therefore there are no additional plumbing expenses for the second bath.
As far as the master bath, the same would apply; the only possible extra expense would be the under-the-house work because the rest
is covered in the contract. The fact YOUR people were unable, or unwilling, to install the ordered showers and cabinets, which should be
standard work for you, is not our responsibility. Three representatives from your office, including you, came to the house and should
have reasonably anticipated any problems in a standard installation. We agree the drain pipes needed to be dropped to improve drainage
but that was only part of the plumbing. Your failure to anticipate reasonable problems does not automatically include those problems in ¶4
So, Dave had a little hissy-fit. A tantrum of sorts. He emailed us back:
“Are you saying you do not want us to finish with the purchased materials? Do you want us to remove ourselves from the phase b section
of the bathrooms and find another contractor? Or are you saying you want us to proceed and agree to the said amount?
We want to work with you but by saying you were 'under the impression and what the contract says is irrelevant' makes things difficult.
This becomes a he said she said, chicken and egg scenario.
If you feel this is impassable, we are fine with removing our product from your home and refunding your deposit as well.
Please offer any reasonable solution you have and we will try to accommodate.”
We replied:
We accept your offer of “removing our product from your home and refunding your deposit”. You may arrange to have someone remove the
cabinets, cabinet tops, cabinet fixtures, wall cabinet, window molding, both showers, walls, pans, and fixtures. Prior to anyone
removing these items we would want a certified check for the amount of the deposit. In addition, the removal of these items is to
be done in a manner so as to not further damage any walls, floors, furniture, etc.
We also told him:
While we accept your offer of “removing our product from your home and refunding your deposit”, we don't see how it benefits you. Most
of the items cannot be reused by you nor can they returned by you because they are used (in some cases they have holes drilled into them).
Including lost man hours for installation and now the removal.
While we accept your offer, we would consider a counter-offer along these lines: both parties declare the job finished as of now,
your crew never comes out here again, we will contract to finish the work, no warranties required from you, and there are no further
payments from us. Considering the projected loss for material and more labor, this scenario affords you substantial revenue from the
down payment which you would retain.
Referring to your second paragraph above, you again misquote. Our statement was”
What you claim at this time what the contract “would say” is irrelevant; it's what the contract “does say”. YOU are making the claim the
wording of the contract is irrelevant, not us. “Under the impression” comes from conversations with at least three different
representatives from your company (including you), and a signed contract that specifies things you are now claiming to be invalid.
We feel we have legitimate complaints that we feel you are dismissing.
So we settled. We gave them $2,800 to leave everything as it is and we finish it, properly. We have incurred additional fees paying a
plumber to properly install the faucet they screwed up. We also incurred additional fees purchasing a faucet of better quality then
they provided and installing the cabinet and faucet (we purchased) in the second bath. And, it took Dave Fleming weeks to get us the
final release but only a few days to cash the check.
So, kiddies, what have we all learned from this?
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ReBath of Colorado Springs Really, Really Sucks! |
This page posted by:
Karen Dudnikov |
Welcome To ReBath Sucks Central! |
ReBath In General Sucks! |
Click Here for a list of ReBath Store Locations. We can't say that other offices are as pathetic as ReBath of Colorado Springs and the sites listed in the complaints but we sure do wonder. Based upon the attitude of Re-Bath Corporate, we would expect they all are as incompetent as Re-Bath Colorado Springs. Possibly worse. But we don't know. Use them at your own risk. |